President's Message

Dear Colleagues:

When I submitted my application for the presidency of the Academy, I knew that it will not be easy to meet the expectations of the community with very different perceptions about the vision and the activities of our organization. And, indeed, already during the first Business Meeting, I was very surprised about the strong opinion among some Fellows against a proposal of another Fellow to host the 2021 Academy meeting in Israel. I understand and appreciate the arguments from both sides, but I was surprised that a motion for a condition which is not accomplishable was brought up during this meeting; further, discussion was not really possible as the Fellow proposing the 2021 meeting in Israel was not present because he was not allowed entry into Indonesia.

During the last few days, the Executive Board discussed the incident and decided to reopen the call for hosting the Academy meeting in 2021. We encourage every Fellow to suggest a possible location and to invite potential hosts if they can offer an easy reachable destination, accessible and safe for all Fellows, with accommodation and conference facilities for approximately 100 delegates, and at reasonable price. Our goal is to present several options to all Academy Fellows who will then be asked to vote during a non-stationary (virtual) membership meeting (according to Sec 3 § 7 b of our bylaws).

Beyond these modest initial troubles, I am confident that we will continue building on the successes of the recent years towards enhancing the role of the Academy as the leading organization representing and supporting academic research in tourism. To this end, the new board comprised of Bob McKercher (Board Chair), Daniel Fesenmaier (1st Vice President), Bao Jigang (2nd Vice President), and Alison Gill (Treasurer) will work with me to meet the broader needs of the Academy and its community. Last, I invite your thoughts on how you would like to see the future of the Academy and how you will be prepared to contribute to it.

Karl Wöber
Karl.woeber@modul.ac.at